The Houston Texans fell to 0-4 on Sunday, losing 34-30 at home to the Dallas Cowboys in a game they should have won. Houston led 16-6 at halftime and still had a 30-27 lead with under three minutes left, but Dak Prescott drove Dallas down the field and hit CeeDee Lamb for a 12-yard touchdown with 40 seconds remaining. The Texans also hurt themselves with 13 penalties for 90 yards, but it was a devastating finish for a team still searching for its first win of the season.
On Monday, ESPN's Dan Orlovsky defended C.J. Stroud and said he has already shown enough to justify a new contract. "Stroud has no business being 0-4, no business, and it's a very interesting situation because no contract, and you sit there and say, traditionally, there's no way that you would pay a quarterback who is 0-4 as the starter the contract that he's asking for," Orlovsky said.
"But if you just took the play of the quarterback, you would sit there and say yes to $50 to 55 [million] that you're asking for, yes it's warranted. And so that's why Houston's just in a fascinating situation when it comes to that, because the keeper game, the seams game down in the red zone, the broken plays that he's made with his legs to throw the football, the play action stuff, it's as good as it's been since his rookie year." More news: Steelers Add Super Bowl Champion CB After Joey Porter Jr Trade Stroud had his best game of the season Sunday, going 21 of 31 for 347 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. It was his highest yardage total in a game since his rookie season and his best passer rating (126.7) since December of last year.
Still, it went down as another close loss for a team that keeps finding new ways to lose. Stroud is also in the final year of his rookie contract, and earlier reports said he was pushing for a long-term deal that would make him the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL. He didn't play up to a contract of that caliber last season, but things already look better this year, even if the team as a whole hasn't.
More news: Puka Nacua Injury Update Sparks Major Concern for Rams More news: Tyreek Hill Reunion With Chiefs Gets Competition From Surprise NFC Contender Unfortunately for Stroud, quarterbacks are measured by wins, and if he can't start stacking them up, it might be difficult for Houston to justify the investment. The Texans do have a favorable upcoming schedule to turn things around, though, with matchups against the Titans, Jaguars, Giants and Chargers ahead.
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